Help and emergencies in Japanese
The words you hope to never need. Play the ten Japanese words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 10 Japanese phrases in this lesson
- ε©γγ¦οΌtas-KEH-teh
- Help!
- ε»θ γεΌγγ§γγ γγi-SHA o YON-deh ku-da-sai
- Call a doctor
- θ¦ε―keh-SA-tsu
- Police
- θ¬ε±yak-KYO-ku
- Pharmacy
- η ι’byoh-IN
- Hospital
- ιγ«θΏ·γγΎγγmi-CHI ni ma-yoy-MASH-ta
- I'm lost
- ζ°εγζͺγγ§γki-BUN ga wa-RU-ee des
- I don't feel well
- ηγΎγγΎγγnu-SU-ma-reh-ma-shi-ta
- It was stolen
- η·ζ₯γ§γKIN-kyoo des
- It's an emergency
- γ»γ£γ¨γγ¦γγ γγHOT-toh-i-teh ku-da-sai
- Leave me alone
The emergency shout. For everyday assistance the softer ζδΌγ£γ¦γγγγΎγγ (can you help me?) or simply sumimasen plus a lost expression works wonders in Japan.
Emergency numbers: 119 for ambulance and fire, 110 for police. Operators can transfer to English interpreters. An ambulance is ζζ₯θ» (kyΕ«-kyΕ«-sha).
The kΕban, the tiny neighborhood police box, is your friend: officers give directions, hold lost items and help visitors constantly. Lost property in Japan comes back at rates that defy belief.
Look for θ¬ (medicine) on signs, or the big chains: Matsumoto Kiyoshi and its rivals. Bring the empty box or a photo of your usual medicine; brand names differ but pharmacists decode them.
Care is excellent. Larger hospitals in cities have international desks. Travel insurance matters here: care is not free for visitors, though costs are reasonable by US standards.
Say it at any kΕban with your destination on the phone screen. Japanese people famously escort lost visitors personally, sometimes several blocks out of their own way.
At a pharmacy, point at what hurts and add ηγγ§γ (i-TAI des), it hurts. γγγηγγ§γ, it hurts here, plus pointing is a complete consultation.
Police 110, ambulance and fire 119.
Literally "please leave me be".